I'll buy the arguement that having rifle season during the rut will affect the average age of the buck herd but as for feeders growing large bucks like the one in the picture. No way. That old boy in the photo is blessed with age and genetics.

With that said, with a very aggressive and expensive feeding program you might be able to grow a few more inches out of a big rack. Is it worth it.

I think mother nature has made the timing perfect for the nutritional balance of these animals. Spring buds grow when the does need nutrition for the unborn fawns and at the same time bucks get their nutrition for there racks. The animals eat well until fall when they get the extra boost of energy from acorns dropping, apple trees dropping, corn, soy bean and so on.

Last but not least. Have you ever noticed that the deer you shoot in early season (October in Ohio) are stuff with food?

Well, I think I can top all of you by saying that in Florida, you would be lucky to see a big buck at all. I have feeders all over the property where I hunt and our club keeps corn in them year-round but to tell the truh, it has not impact on antler growth. I still have yet to see a deer bigger than a 8-pointer on the property, which is about as big as they come in Florida. Also, with high huting pressure, a lot of the bucks become nocturnal. Also, a lot of people are trigger happy and shoot the buck they see, no matter what the age.

Shane, its not our fault our deer are smaller in texas. But you just gave me a great idea, Im gonna start adding some weight gainer from one of those body buildng stores like GNC to our protein feeders! Everything is bigger in Texas we got the antlers and now were gonna have the body size!;) As for actually being small our deer dont compare in size to saskatchewan or ohio but i shot three this year and had to give meat away cause it wouldnt all fit in our freezer. But if you would actualy like to show me how big of deer you got up in ohio im free in nov! Also Buckhunter is very right about the genetics. I can guarantee you that the ole boy in the pic was not made by a spike!

Jim in Mo.- Pheasants require the LACK of a mineral to thrive. Ky. does not hold a native population due to the high content of lime in the soil. The lime present does not allow the eggs of the female to harden and allow a developed chick to break out. The eggs here instead become leathery, like a turtle, and the chicks are unable to break through the membraneous shell.
That said, there are merits to the soil issue as you stated. The nutrients that the browse species get are obtained throught the soil. So of course deer recieve nutrients through the soils on which they live. However it is very cost effective and easy to maintain proper soil health and therefore is a moot point with regard to rack production. The most common undercurrent of these big bucks is the fact that they were ALLOWED to live to their prime and beyond, thus allowing for maxium growth potential.
As far as food plots not giving the nutrients, try this. On a 1/2 football field size food plot,( species is not important, but not on corn please) divide the field exactly in half. ON one half apply a fertilizer, such as miracle grow, do ot treat the other half. Place utilization cages on each half and see which side is eaten first. I promise you the treated side will ALWAYS be eaten first.

i also live on one of the states where, if a deer makes it 2 years, he is luckier than most. i agree i think it all has to do with the rut and rifle season.

This would be very similar to cattle. The better the food source the healthier and better they are. In both cases genetics are a key component, but without proper nutrition the animal is not going to meet their potential.

well said vtbluegrass

that is an awsome deer, i'm in a state that been on an off about baiting so i don't bait, hunting is in my blood and if i where to get a fine or worse lose my hunting privileges i would go nuts, so in my hunting area an my neighbors have all just band together and just put minerals out and i have noticed in my hunting area that the buck are gitting bigger, doe are giving birth to healther fawns, so the baiting isn't a big deal, but the deposit of minerals in my mind and my hunting area realy does make a differnes.

I believe that feeding increases the carrying capacity of a piece of property. With more deer you naturally have more mature bucks. Age and genetics are just as important as nutrition in growing trophy bucks.

For some one who writes with authority about feeding and baiting yoou sure dont seem to know very much Mr. Bestul. I do not know who is giving you your opinions but they seem to be equally clueless. I know very few people who feed deer only for hunting season everyone that I know feeds year round. The few that do feed only during hunting season do so mostly by accident (ie. lost lease). A quality feeding program takes into account the health and well-being of the entire herd not just some jack-legged scrub that would be dumb enough to show up under a feeder in the daylight.

As usual Mr. Bestul, you fail to see/acknowledge the difference between "baiting" and supplemental feeding. The feeder in the pic is a High protein bulk feeder that is in place YEAR 'ROUND. Yes it is not cost effective for the average joe, and hence is not used widely. Food plots are also a form of supplemental feeding. It is a little more cost effective and greatly increases the tonnage per acre of food available to deer annually. Food plot management can be used to ensure deer have quality feed during the most stressfull preiods in their year to year lives.
Baiting is the practice of feeding deer to attract them for the purpose of hunting. This , in my opinion, is not necessarily the best way to harvest quality deer.
For those posters from Florida who are feeding corn year round with no "results": Corn is to whitetails what cocaine is to crack addicts. It has very little usable nutrional value. In other words, corn is made up of mostly complex carbohydrates that will produce energy, and it is very palatable, which is why deer come to it continually. Corn has almost no protein (> 6% in most varieties), which is the primary component in developing the maximum body mass prior to antler development in the spring. In other words, if a buck reaches his maxium BMI (Body mass index), prior to his pedicles developing antlers, then all available nutrition then goes into producing the best antlers that his age class allows him to. So corn as a nutrional supplement is not only wasted money from you, but it is also wasted on the deer except in harsh winter conditions where it may save their lives, but that is a whole other data set.
All this said, the number one thing that anyone can do to improve this size of their racks, is to to not shoot the young deer. Age = Rack size and development.